What Makes a Good Leader?

If you were to pick the best World Leaders who would they be? Who are the worst? Why? For all time (alive or dead)?

If you believe the World Leaders Barometer the results would include Barack Obama and the Dali Lama. This French survey regularly examines the popularity and perceived influence of leading political and spiritual leaders from around the world.

What characteristics do these leaders have that make them popular?

What have these leaders accomplished? Is popularity the same as being effective?


Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a controversial figure both within Iran and internationally. His outspoken statements about the Holocaust and 9/11 have given him headlines while his vocal support of Iran's nuclear program have earned him fear. Supporters of Ahmadinejad, however, consider him a "simple man" that leads a "modest" life. How can one man be both so feared by the world and loved by many of his own people at the same time?

Operation New Dawn

President Obama announces the end of the combat mission in Iraq and discusses the future of the U.S. commitment to helping build a stable Iraq in an address to the nation from the Oval Office.

1) What does it mean now that the ‘combat mission’ is over?

2) What were the costs of this mission?

3) Did we complete our mission there? Why/ Not?

4) What do you think is the future of Iraq?

5) Do you agree or disagree with the President’s decision? Write you reaction to his speech below (at least one paragraph)

The Human Cost of Occupation

Have you ever risked injury or death in order to help someone or in the name of a cause? Is there any case where you would?




Compare this chart to the article 2000 Dead: As Iraq Tours Stretch On a Grim Mark.

Have things gotten better or worse?

How do you view these numbers differently after reading about the young men and women they represent?

Has the War in Iraq been a success? Why or Why not?

How important is it to consider the personal experiences of soldiers in forming an opinion about War?

OutFoxed

Outfoxed examines how media empires, led by Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, have been running a "race to the bottom" in television news. This film provides an in-depth look at Fox News and the dangers of ever-enlarging corporations taking control of the public's right to know.

Click here to watch the documentary.

1) How important is an independent, skeptical press is in a democracy like ours.
2) What's wrong with mixing opinion and fact in the news?
3) Besides favoring one political party over another, how else does bad reporting harm the public?
4) Can a news organization be liberal or conservative without being biased?
5) Is Outfoxed "good" journalism itself, or is also motivated by partisan politics?

Restoring Honor Rally

Forty seven years ago this past weekend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous 'I have a Dream' speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Not to be outdone, controversial Fox TV host Glenn Beck chose this exact same spot to give his own speech. Why? What is his 'Dream' for America? What was Dr. King's? Compare and contrast the two events.

Is Glenn Beck good or bad for America? Read the article and you decide.

Out of Print

Three centuries after the appearance of Franklin’s Courant, it no longer requires a dystopic imagination to wonder who will have the dubious distinction of publishing America’s last genuine newspaper. Few believe that newspapers in their current printed form will survive. Newspaper companies are losing advertisers, readers, market value, and, in some cases, their sense of mission at a pace that would have been barely imaginable just four years ago

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/03/31/080331fa_fact_alterman#ixzz0xpWMMKhi

Commencement

Congratulations. Since I couldn’t be at every high school and college commencement this year, I wanted to send a message to all of the graduates in this country who are about to embark on the next chapter of your young and promising lives.

Click here to read the rest of the President's speech.

What is the message of this speech? How is the America graduates are facing today different from the America of the past? How have young Americans historically risen to the challenges of their times?

Research some other famous commencement speeches and then write your own. What advice will you give?